Electrical assemblies often employ housings to protect internal components such as circuit boards, cables, and displays. The internal components may be required to communicate, for example, electrically with other devices or components that are outside of the housing. Feedthrough connectors are typically affixed to the housing and have one or more conductors that go through a wall of the housing. The conductor is coupled to the internal components so the internal components can communicate with the devices or components outside of the housing. The conductor can also be electrically isolated from the housing with ceramic such as a potting material.
Many feedthrough connectors are readily available from various suppliers. However, the readily available connectors are not necessarily well suited for electrical assemblies with proprietary internal components or limited design options due to regulatory or environmental constraints. For example, some electrical assemblies may be required to meet ‘explosion proof’ regulations. As a result, the housing and internal components may have robust design structures such as thick walls, reinforcing members, rigid structures, or the like. The thick walls and reinforcing members may limit the envelope size available for the readily available connectors. In addition, servicing these electrical devices may necessarily be done in uncontrolled environments where the user servicing the electrical device employs gloves, inappropriate tools, or other objects to replace, upgrade, or otherwise disassemble and service the electrical assemblies.
Such issues can lead to damaged electrical assemblies or other devices as well as extended service times. For example, the readily available connectors might employ inexpensive designs that may be appropriate for non-industrial applications, but are prone to failure when exposed to uncontrolled environments. Connectors with form factors that are inappropriate for their intended envelopes can be difficult to access, thereby causing extended service times. Extended service times can be unacceptable in many industries with high capital investments where equipment downtime is prohibitively expensive. In addition, the limited access can induce the operator to use unorthodox methods in attempting to reduce the service time. These unorthodox methods may have a higher likelihood of damaging the electrical assemblies.
Some of the readily available connectors might be suitable in some limited industrial applications, but are typically complex. For example, the connectors might employ metal housings with captured and inaccessible bearing and spring retention mechanisms. Latches can overcome some of the complexities associated with bearing and spring retention mechanisms. However, the latches are inaccessible and are employed in complex connector designs. The complex connectors require prohibitively expensive manufacturing processes and are more prone to failure when exposed to corrosion, contaminants, or extreme temperatures. In addition, complex connectors may not fit within a wide variety of limited envelope sizes without significant redesign costs.
Accordingly, there is a need for a connector with a latch that can be inexpensive to manufacture, suitable for industrial applications, and fit within small envelope sizes while being accessible.